ABTTF President: “Our country, which is condemned dozens of times each year by the ECtHR, has failed to execute the ECtHR judgments in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases concerning the associations of the Turkish community in Western Thrace for the past 18 years, disregarding international law and the rule of law. The government must take the necessary steps without delay to protect and develop the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law, considering the warnings and recommendations of the Justice Observatory and other independent organisations, as well as those of the European Union, of which it is a member.”
The Justice Observatory, an independent organisation that monitors and evaluates the overall functioning of the justice system in Greece, highlighted ongoing structural problems related to the rule of law in the country in its new report.
The report, which addresses areas of friction in Greece regarding compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and respect for fundamental rights, the qualitative characteristics of cases brought before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), and recurring structural problems, reveals that the country is particularly plagued by excessively long judicial processes, violations of the presumption of innocence, and persistent serious allegations concerning the treatment of migrants.
The report states that Greece was convicted 19 times by the ECtHR in 2025 and that the most frequently violated right was the right to a fair trial. It also indicates that at the end of 2025, 2,500 applications against Greece were still pending before the ECtHR and that Greece ranked sixth among the countries with the most cases against them.
“The Justice Observatory has once again warned the government, emphasising the urgent need for institutional reforms to end the structural problems concerning the rule of law in our country, Greece, and to accelerate the delivery of justice. Following a series of legal scandals in recent years, such as illegal wiretapping and the Tempi train accident, for which the government bears direct responsibility, the vast majority of citizens no longer have confidence in the independence of the judiciary or the government. The government, which uses strategic lawsuits for political purposes as a means of intimidation and directly interferes with the judiciary, systematically violates the rule of law. Our country, which is condemned dozens of times each year by the ECtHR, has failed to execute the ECtHR judgments in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases concerning the associations of the Turkish community in Western Thrace for the past 18 years, disregarding international law and the rule of law. The government must take the necessary steps without delay to protect and develop the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law, considering the warnings and recommendations of the Justice Observatory and other independent organisations, as well as those of the European Union, of which it is a member’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
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